Come play in the Woodland

31st July 2013
Come Play in the Woodland
Friends of Speckled Wood spent the day with the Ore Church Mice Pre-School in Speckled Wood this morning for two hours. The event was organized by the Ore Church Mice Pre-School in association with the Trust.

The day was rainy but spirits were not dampened and over one hundred people came bringing over fifty small children. The Children seemed to thoroughly enjoy the face painting , biscuit making, cakes , wood skills  wildlife skills and the wildlife watching. Te Gruffulo trail was very popular and many of the children enjoyed the story being read to them throughout the woodland.

Trust providing some thoroughly enjoyable workshops. The Trust wants to thank Anna from the Police , Kim and her colleague from the Wildlife Trust, Rachel and Glen and the Ore Church Mice and all their helpers and supporters, Kelly and her sisters who made smashing cakes and fed us all .

The Trust had a fantastic day and members were worn out but smiling .

The Trust want to thank the people who came for their generous donations which totaled £31-87. Thank you everyone for supporting this event . We hope to announce a further date soon.

Insurance documents arrive

31st July 2013
INSURANCE DOCUMENTS ARRIVE
The Trust received its certificates for Public Liability today and in accordance with protocol is placing them in the public arena. Thank you Sue for sorting out the payment from our account. We are very pleased to have this in place.

Finally the brake on the tractor can be serviced

27th July 2013
FINALLY THE BRAKE ON THE TRACTOR CAN BE SERVICED
This morning the two members who bough the tractor managed to get the wheel of the tractor t service the brake. This had been a difficult job as the wheel was keyed onto the shaft 100mm on making the only way to remove it by using a puller. The Disk brake can now be serviced . New parts have been bought to ensure the brakes are functional.

The Trust clear the Victoria Avenue path entrance

27th July 2012
THE TRUST CLEAR THE VICTORIA AVENUE PATH ENTRANCE
This morning members of the Trust cleared the Victoria Avenue entrance again allowing the pathway to be used once more. This is now looking brilliant for the party on the 31st July 2013 in the Woodland. Sadly the other woodlands paths are not being maintained built by the group that created them . It has been pointed out to this group that these pathways are dangerous and that they  had not been maintaining them. The Trust started to take on some of these repairs last month when it removed a dangerous tyre and corrugated sheet from the upper pathway put in as a step by this group and replaced it with much safer wider steps. Some of the pathways are being neglected and some pathways have now closed off due to vegetation. It is clear that as this group has failed to maintain these pathways that the Trust may have to.

The ponds dam was repaired today.

25th July 2013
THE PONDS DAM WAS REPAIRED TODAY.

The heavy rain that had surged through Speckled Wood had left its toll on the Dam at the top of the pond in the topmost glade. Members of the Trust brought in more stones to rebuild the dam that they was hoping would scarify the pond out.  The Dam will now have to settle so that the water levels balance once more .

The Trust becomes a HMRC registered Charity

Friends of Speckled Wood Management Trust became an HMRC Registered Charity today.

The Trustees welcomed this change to their groups charity status and was very pleased that this will enable them to acquire funding from different areas not as yet tapped.

Pile of Rubbish vanishes from the woodland

24th July2013

PILE OF RUBBISH VANISHES FROM THE WOODLAND.
The pile of tipped rubbish vanished from the top of the wood today. The pile had been stacked by volunteers of the Trust a few weeks back and was heading for a skip that they were hoping to position behind the Salvation Army. A spokesman from the Trust said that the Recyclers are obviously now coming in to the woodland to get the scrap and at least the woodland is clearer.

The Trust meet with the Community Accountancy and Group Support Worker from HVA this morning

23rd July 2013

THE TRUST MEET WITH THE COMMUNITY ACCOUNTANCY AND GROUP SUPPORT WORKER FROM HVA THIS MORNING

This morning the Trust met with HVA again to go through the forms to place The trust as a HMRC registered charity.  Several problems with getting the document to print out was resolved and more information was given to get the paperwork filled in.  The trust hopes to have the rest of the paperwork done this week , but is reliant on getting the documents signed by the committee members. The whole meeting was very successful and the Trust want to thank Hastings Voluntary Action  for their fabulous support. Information was also handed over regarding contacts and insurance companies.

The Trust met with the Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust

19th July 2013
THE TRUST MET WITH THE SURREY AND SUSSEX PROBATION TRUST.
This morning the Trust met with The Surrey and Sussex  Probation Trust to see if they could assist with removing the tipped material from Speckled wood. The meeting was attended by the Trust Chairman and the weather was beautiful. The Coordinator seemed very interested in our project and has agreed to help us with volunteers. This is expected to start around August and specific targets were agreed. The Trust would like to thank The Surrey and Sussex Probation Trust for offering this assistance.

Volunteers clear footpaths in Speckled Wood today

19th July 2013

VOLUNTEERS CLEAR FOOTPATHS IN SPECKLED WOOD TODAY
This morning volunteers were busy clearing the woodland path that comes down from the Village green today. The pathways are being widened from the green down at the moment to allow better access and visibility.

More metal makes it way to the growing pile in Speckled Wood

18th July 2013
MORE METAL MAKES ITS WAY TO THE GROWING PILE IN SPECKLED WOOD.
Last night members of the Trust moved material out onto the upper pathways so that it could be removed in the Morning. We wish to thank Chris & Martin for their help. This morning The Trust was back in the Wood moving this material from the pathways onto that e main pile. The main pile is growing in size now . Thanks to Martin and Bernard for moving this.

Members of the Trust rescue a baby seagull

17th July 2013

MEMBERS OF THE TRUST RESCUE A BABY SEAGULL
This afternoon members of the Trust where notified of a baby seagull trapped in the Japanese Knotweed which had been cornered by a cat in the woodland. The quick thinking members rust to its help with a pair of scissors and gloves to free it.

The baby Seagull was checked over and its wings seemed to be functional before it was released slightly undignified. The seagull was seen to wander off up the road and fly onto a flower border. The members left it there to recoup and to fly off once it had settled down.

Local organisation donates hand made bat;bird and owl boxes

17th July 2013
LOCAL ORGANISATION DONATES HAND MADE BAT BIRD  AND OWL BOXES
This morning a local group the Hastings and Bexhill Wood Recycling Project have kindly donated three different nesting boxes to the trust to be put up in the woodland. These have been gratefully accepted by the trust as they have been beautifully made from totally recycled product. If you would like to know more about this group and their range of recycled projects please contact the Hastings and Bexhill Wood Recycling Project: http://www.recyclingwood.org.uk/ Tel 01424 715566

This evening the Trust have been moving more metal

16th July 2013

THIS EVENING THE TRUST HAVE BEEN MOVING MORE METAL.
More metal has been moved by Friends of Speckled Wood Management Trust to the main pile they have been gathering in the entrance way at the top of the woodland this evening. This is only a small part of the metal remaining in the woodland the Trust contact ed The Ore Centre yesterday to ask which volunteers had been responsible for the work in the garden area Mrs Mags Pawson was kind enough to pass the details on to the Trust members and  the group have been contacted and a site visit will follow shortly. The Trust hope this will help them meet their target this year in time to have Natural England visit to check the site designation and change it if appropriate..

This morning the Trust have been busy in Speckled Wood

14th July 2013
THIS MORNING THE TRUST HAS BEEN BUSY IN SPECKLED WOOD.

This morning the Friends of Speckled Wood have been busy in the woodland repairing footpaths in the the woodland. The started early repairing the upper entrance to the woodland which had been left as a piece of corrugated steel under some soil. This was removed and two railway sleepers placed in to  make the entrance easier to find and better to use.


The metalwork clearance also continued as another piece of metal was removed from the stream where the children play.The Trust is still busy removing metal from the Woodland and is still working on fixing its members tractor to enable this to happen faster. Piles are now appearing around the upper woodland that are building in size.

A recent newspaper story in the Hastings Observer highlighted this work that the Trust had been doing and   showed how it was something that was started in the 1940's

Children help clear the the stream

14th July 2013
CHILDREN HELP CLEAR THE STREAM.

A group of three children were in the woodland this morning annoyed that someone had thrown the bricks and rocks they had worked hard to remove from the stream earlier back in. They were seen to be busy removing them again with happy smiles. They have been watching the Friends of Speckled Wood volunteers for weeks and this is lovely to see them helping.

Serotine Bats videoed in entrance to Speckle Wood

10 July 2013
SEROTINE BATS VIDEOED IN ENTRANCE TO SPECKLED WOOD.
Tonight Serotine Bats where seen flying in the air above the entrance to the woodland on Speckled Wood at around 9:41pm at night. This was quite excitedly seen by two observers and videoed on a camera phone. the two members where incredibly lucky to get this shot of the bats.

This proves without doubt that there are bats in the Woodland. The Trusts wants a complete survey to be done and is trying to contact someone in the area who is capable of doing a full survey.

There is a last attempt to meet the members of the Trust on site with the Bat Detectors that they have been lent  :  https://www.facebook.com/events/272531692884801/?ref=3

Short ramble through the woodland with Bat Detector III

5th July 2013

SHORT RAMBLE THROUGH THE WOODLAND WITH BAT DETECTOR III
Following our trip to Mallydams last week they were kind enough to lend us a bat detector an early Bat Detector III . We went out just after it got dark to do a walk through . At first there was not a lot to hear until we spotted a young badger before coming out of the woodland to go past the church and back in through the top. As we went past the church we had chirps at around 42-50 . These disappeared until we was halfway down the steps and then came back. We could hear an OWL hooting and sadly the units batteries died. We think this could be either Serotine or Pipistrelle. More investigation will be needed to confirm.  The trip also was interesting as lots of animals  such as badgers where seen and owls hooting all in the woodland.

Two responsible dog owners help out.

04th July 2013
TWO RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS HELP OUT.
The Trust want to thank the two dog owners who where in the woodland this evening picking up glass and bagging up other less responsible dog owners pooh.

The Trust said this was lovely to see and  wish more dog owners would help out keep and keep the environment that they can walk there dogs in clean and hygienic.

The Trust put up another nesting box

3rd July 2013
THE TRUST  PUT UP ANOTHER NESTING BOX
Today the Trust found another site for a recently purchase nesting box made by the RSPCB. The site was chosen as it was facing the correct direction and was slightly away from where people walk. The latest nesting box makes three that the Trust has placed in the woodland now.  One of the Trust members has said that they will build an OWL nesting box . The Trust are looking forward to this as their is known to be owls in the woodland. We hope to have news of this soon.

The Trust Meets HVA for a company check

2nd July 2013
THE TRUST MEETS WITH HVA FOR A COMPANY CHECK-UP.

Today the Trust members met with the Hastings Voluntary Action to check their progress as a company and look at their structure. The Trust gave a full presentation to HVA and detailed account of how they started up. The representatives were please with the Trusts progress and a very positive meeting was had by both parties  with HVA stating that the Trust meeting its immediate targets to achieve land ownership of Speckled Wood.

July News letter released

2nd July 2013
JULY NEWSLETTER REALEASED.
 The July Friends of Speckled Wood newsletter has now been released and is available online here thank you Kelly:


http://www.friendsofspeckledwood.org.uk/gb/news/2013-07-02-FOSWMT%20newsletter.pdf